Graphical distortion on desktop

Kravenius

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
4,104
Reaction score
2,618
Points
1,005
Location
Newport
Hi, I have started to get strange graphical glitches on my desktop (Dell XPS system. never changed anything in it from new.) Even when just idling on the desktop, you can see pixels flicker on, which a screen refresh will get rid of but will soon start to appear then, text when browsing web pages can get distorted but again if you refresh the page goes back to normal but if for example you start scrolling down the page, the text can then become distorted again. It seems to make no difference if it's from a cold start or it has been powered on for hours.

Games bring out the worst of it with major flickering to the point where it becomes unplayable. Video playback seems unaffected however as far as I can tell.

Nothing is overclocked or appears to be overheating. I will have to check the exact graphics card model (in work at the moment) but it is a Radeon about 3 years old.

All I'm really looking for is some knowledgeable advice on whether it is most likely the graphics card that needs replacing or any other likely candidates causing the problem or any way to test for the root cause.

Thank you for any assistance provided. :smashin:
 
Have you tried a different monitor pal?
 
Not tried a different monitor but I have tried it on both a DVI-D and HDMI connection on the same monitor with the same results. The monitor is also used by an Xbox 360 via HDMI with no problems.

I had by my own admission ruled the monitor out as result but could this still be the cause of the problem?
 
It doesn`t sound like the monitor now you have mentioned the Xbox working fine..

Have you tried the PC using the same HDMI cable that the Xbox runs fine from?

I know these sound like simple solutions but worth looking at :)
 
It was the same HDMI cable as the PC and Xbox sit next to each other, so quickly switched over to test.

Out of curiosity I just tried a screen capture to see if it could capture the distortion and it has. It can get worse than this but if you look towards the bottom of the pic, you can see the pixels I'm talking about. I'll try to get another with distorted text so it's easier to see what I'm talking about but all help is appreciated as I don't mind having to replace something, just don't want to go buying parts and not solving the problem! :smashin:
 

Attachments

  • dodgy screen capture.jpg
    dodgy screen capture.jpg
    78.8 KB · Views: 57
I had to look close with the pic being smaller at my end, but yeah I see them.

When was the last time for updated the graphics card drivers bud?
 
Yeah sorry about the small pic, there it's not so bad but sometimes it's awful with unreadable text etc. Drivers are up to date but it's been like this through the past couple of driver iterations I've used. Even tried rolling back my graphics card drivers to before it appeared but still the same, so I updated to the latest again.

Should have mentioned that I also reinstalled everything to the original factory image and still had the same problem.
 
Do you feel confident in taking the graphics card out pal?

Its always worth taking the card out and cleaning the PCI-e pins (assuming its PCI-e and not AGP), use a pencil eraser to gently clean the pins on each side off the card and re-seating it.

Its the last thing I can think off testing before its time to start testing the graphics card in a different PC, have you checked the card is dust free too?
 
Also is the CPU heat sink clean and dust free? Is the CPU fan spinning freely? Have you checked CPU temps?
 
I'm happy to take it out. Used to mess around with PC's more years ago, so I'm familiar enough with putting them together and taking them apart. I did already open up the case, and while there was a little dust, it wasn't excessive and I cleaned that out.

Will try your suggestion of cleaning the PCI-e pins and if no success, haul it off to work tomorrow to try in my PC there.

Thank you for the help, always useful to make sure I'm not missing out on anything daft or obvious which is my usual trick :laugh:
 
Its worth trying all these things because it costs no more than a little time :) Also its worth cleaning the RAM with an eraser the same way you are going to clean the graphics card pins.

If still no joy its time to confirm it is the GPU in a different PC before buying a replacement, like you said, you don`t mind buying a new part but if you do you want to know it is going to cure the problem :smashin:
 
Have tried removing and cleaning everything now but still to no avail. CPU is idling at around 32°C and the GPU at around 45°C so nothing appears to be overheating. Time to try it in another PC I think.
 
That defo sounds like the GPU to me mate, is it an expensive card?
 
I thought as much, it's a 5870 and was part of the original system 3 years ago. So it's nowhere near up to date now although still reasonably capable. I will try and confirm it tomorrow at my work PC (if it's capable of running it) and if so look into a replacement.
 
The 5870 is still a decent gaming card today, they run BF3 on high settings @ 1080p and pull 40fps, so yes still capable :)

If it is the GPU atleast it will be an easy pretty low cost fix ;)
 
Yes a bit of a shame as like you say was still capable even with the latest games so still had some life left before I would have ideally replaced it. It just doesn't like playing them anymore :laugh:

Was looking possibly at a 7870. Will have to do a bit more research yet though as tend to be rusty on my component knowledge these days though :laugh:
 
I picked up a second hand 5870 on here over in the classifieds inbetween a GPU upgrade and it managed games pretty well :)

If you don`t like playing games now a 7870 is overkill for your needs bud! Or do you like to know your GPU can run games if it was asked to?

What do you use your PC for mainly pal and what CPU and RAM do you have? Might be able to help with matching a GPU up with your system with no real bottle neck :D
 
Advice is always appreciated. System is a AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (2.80GHz, 512kx6) with 6GB 1333MHz DDR3.

I do enjoy my games and have would like to get back into the PC side of things. Grown tired of console gaming again which seems to have gone very stale. So would like to know if I want it to any replacement I invest in can handle the latest and ideally anything within the next year or so at a reasonably high detail setting with a good playable fps. :)
 
You have a decent spec for gaming pal (bet it cost a few bob 3 years ago bought as a pre-built PC)

First up what PSU do you have? What make, how many and watts?
 
It was actually a pretty good deal at the time, one of those stranger times when it actually cost less pre-built than it did to buy the components and put it together myself and was my first pre-built system I had bought in about 10 years. I've been quietly impressed with it ever since considering it was a Dell. Till now that is! :laugh:

The PSU is still the original factory fitted Dell 460W
 
If I was in your shoes I would certainly replace the dell 460w PSU bud, believe it or not among all the PC clutter I have knocking about i`m pretty sure I have a 460w Dell PSU :laugh:

I really would replace the standard PSU with a cheap 500w 80+ bronze PSU mate :thumbsup:
 
It's amazing what you can collect gathering dust when you build PC's. I'm pretty sure I still have bits and pieces from 15 years ago. It's funny looking at some of it now and remembering how state of the art and expensive it was back then and now looks so basic.

I will replace the power supply as well then. I'm guessing it's a bit weedy by today's standards. :laugh:

What about the graphics card? I don't want to cause a bottleneck like you say by buying something too advanced which is hindered by the CPU or RAM :D
 
I`m super guilty for collecting antique PC parts that will never get used :facepalm:

I say replace the PSU because any decent GPU today will recommend a 500w minimum, plus if that PSU goes pop its possible that the rest off the system will go pop too :mad:

I`m not sure I should be advising on hardware.. I`ve been swapping and changing CPU`s and GPU`s like theirs no tomorrow for the past year :laugh: I`m currently serving a personal best with my current GPU being in my PC for over a month now and no plans to change :rolleyes:

I would say from your spec and after a small upgrade to a decent 500w bronze 80+ the 7870 you had in minf won`t disapoint :smashin:
 
Right, sounds like I have a plan. Thanks for all the info :)
Just don`t get carried away like I did.

You`ll do fine with a replacement GPU and PSU :cool:
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom